Movies

July 12, 2009

Panettiere prepares pompoms

AMY LONGSDORF For The Times Leader

Hayden Panettiere knows everything there is to know about cheerleaders. After playing sis-boom-bah girls on TV’s “Heroes,” and in the films “Bring It On: All or Nothing” and “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” she’s happy to hold forth on the power of the pompom.

“Cheerleaders are as American as apple pie,” she says. “They symbolize youth, high school, being popular. In people’s minds, the most popular girl in school is always the head cheerleader.”

In real life, the 20-year native of Palisades, N.Y., didn’t have time for cheering. A working actress since she was 7, Panettiere spent her high-school years shooting “Heroes” and a handful of films, including “Fireflies in the Garden,” a 2008 drama with Julia Roberts set to be released later this summer.

The year after graduation, Panettiere was off in Vancouver making “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” a Chris Columbus-directed comedy about a popular high-schooler who decides to do the unexpected and spend a long night of post-grad partying with the school’s resident dweeb (Paul Rust).

When she accepted the role, Panettiere was hooked on the idea of mining the vein of sadness she spotted in the screenplay. “Even though there’s so many funny moments in the movie, for my character, (graduation night) is really sad because in her mind this is the end of life as she knows it,” Panettiere says. “This is the end of the line for her, the end of her reign as queen bee.”

Home-schooled since she was 14, Panettiere got a crash course in teen trauma thanks to her friends who filled her in on their ongoing romantic entanglements. The actress also went to prom and homecoming dances and proudly recalls an evening spent running from police officers after an unauthorized fireworks display.

“I don’t really know why I ran with the other kids, but I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is funny’ because I was going from such an adult world (of movie-making) to running from the cops. But I got a kick out of it.”

With “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” Panettiere joins two other “Heroes” cast members in trying their luck on the big screen. Earlier this season, Ali Larter and Zachary Quinto scored big box-office hits with their movies “Obsession” and “Star Trek,” respectively. Panettiere gives a thumbs-up to both flicks.

“We really are the closest cast,” she says. “We’re just like brothers and sisters. … I’m the butt of everyone’s joke. I’m the little sister who gets teased more often than not. There are combinations of them who get together to tease me, and it’s just, like, ‘Oh, no, leave me alone. I’m tired of being made fun of.’ ”

Panettiere says she turned the tables on Quinto when he showed up on the “Heroes” set with his eyebrows shaved, Spock style. “We gave him such a hard time about that,” she says. “All of us kept calling him Spock all the time, too. Hey, that’s what we’re there for.”

Panettiere said the fourth season of “Heroes,” which is set to get under way in September, will bring some big changes for all of the show’s super-powered players. Her character, Claire Bennett, will be a freshman in college and hooked up with a Company-esque organization called the Carnival.

“Claire also has a new roommate who we don’t really know much about initially,” Panettiere says. But keep an eye on the newbie. “We find out a lot more about her as the season goes on.”

Last year, Panettiere and her “Heroes” co-star, Milo Ventimiglia, were an item. The couple has since split up, and she’s moved on. “I’m single and mingling,” she says. “I’m not dating anyone specifically.”

With a laugh, she shoots down some other rumors that have surfaced via the tabloids. “I’m not pregnant. I’m not getting married. I’m not looking for a house. Don’t believe any of it. None of it is true.”

It’s been reported that Panettiere has been cast in the remake of “Footloose” which is scheduled to get under way with “Gossip Girl’s” Chace Crawford in the Kevin Bacon role. But she says her involvement is a long shot. “I’m on a show where we have two months to do something else,” she says. “So it’s tough to fit anything in that (hiatus).”

A vegan for years, Panettiere devotes much of her free time to animal-rights causes. On Oct. 31, 2007, the actress joined Sea Shepherd in trying to disrupt a dolphin hunt in Japan. The group was unsuccessful in halting the slaughter, and an arrest warrant was reportedly issued for Panettiere, which bars her visiting or working in the country.

The actress says her commitment to saving dolphins and whales hasn’t wavered. “I would go back in that water and stand in front of those animals again,” she notes. “I did it once. I’ll do it again. I’ll do it again and again and again.

“I got involved with the whales and dolphins just from my love of animals. Someone asked me to be involved and I said, ‘Yes, I’ll be there by your side until the bitter end of this fight.’ And I absolutely will be.”

Tweet	Follow @TLnews